Thailand: Protesters Must Stay Out of the Gutter

Key to winning the nations back is winning the hearts of those who disagree with you most.

December 21, 2013 (Tony Cartalucci) - The regime of Thaksin Shinawatra
built itself upon a foundation of corruption, deceit, fear,
intimidation, bigotry, violence, and mass murder. Its followers, the
"red shirts," are notorious thugs,
having barricaded schools threatening teachers and parents, slapping
university lecturers, and even going as far as hacking their opponents
to pieces, committing massive city-wide arson, and armed insurrection.
Though they only represent at most 7% of the population, with a mere 35% of all eligible voters having cast their ballots for the current regime, the silent majority fears them.

It wasn't until people began organizing against the ill-conceived,
criminal "amnesty bill" that the silent majority realized their own
true strength and the crumbling rot that hid just under the surface of
the regime's "majority" rhetoric. But with this incredible strength
comes incredible responsibility, and how we manage that responsibility
will determine the longevity and effectiveness of this movement and its
many aims in both the short and long-term.

Veteran journalist Michael Yon has now on multiple occasions pointed out
the crass vitriol emanating from pro-regime propagandists who spend
literally all day and all night engaged in name-calling, smearing, and
other detestable, anti-social behavior. However, Yon refuses to wade
into the gutter with his opponents and not only intelligently identifies
and condemns their behavior, but does so with civility and class.

Her car got firebombed the other day and she responded by going to work. That is a vote of confidence.

Indeed, this "stupid rich girl," in the face of violent intimidation,
pressed on with her cause, proving with actions that the baseless, mere
words of Marshall were just that - baseless.

Both Yon and Chitpas leave Marshall looking silly, childish, sorely
lacking the legitimacy his former position at Reuters had granted him,
and most importantly - alone in the gutter. Not only does Yon respond
with facts to counter the crass, baseless insults leveled by Marshall,
he demonstrates to his audience both his respect toward their
intelligence and maturity, as well as a dedication to civilized
discourse. This doubly validates his position and serves as an example
for all in the anti-regime movement to follow.

Building Bridges & Hope, Not Barriers & Desperation

The worst possible thing one can do when engaged in any conflict is to
make regular folks on the other side of the divide feel threatened. No
matter how righteous your cause is, any fear you create will only cause
your opponents to circle their defenses tighter and to resist with
greater desperation. It was the great Chinese strategist Sun Tzu who said:

Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into
desperate straits, and it will come off in safety. For it is precisely
when a force has fallen into harm's way that is capable of striking a
blow for victory.

By pressuring the rank and file of your opponents, you are giving the
leaders of your opposition a golden opportunity to galvanize a movement
that might otherwise unravel.

Instead, build bridges designed specifically for different segments of
the opposition's rank and file (police, farmers, politicians, laborers)
to cross over, safely and without fear. As the regime continues to
crumble, those who had supported it will see a clear and tempting avenue
of escape. When they see others crossing over and being welcomed and
treated well, the barriers of fear keeping them under the noxious clouds
of the regime will lower and they will follow.

One of the strongest selling points of the current anti-regime protests
has been the peaceful nature of 2, soon to be 3 mass mobilizations.
People see the thuggery of the regime's "red shirts" evaporating before
this organized force and feel safer. It is important for them to
continue feeling safe. Ways to reassure them is to examine the crass
demagoguery, vitriol, insults, intimidation, violence, and other ugly
behavior that have become the hallmarks of the "red shirt" movement,
and ensure that the anti-regime protests adopt the very opposite of
postures - decisively condemning and disowning those who fail to do so.

Michael Yon, Chitpas Bhirombhakdi, and many others, prove that
intelligent civility and courage is all one needs to make a difference
and move the hearts of the people. Even those that do not agree with the
ends of the protests, will at least agree with the means.

There is no point of entering the gutter and rolling around with the
regime. The regime's place in the gutter is precisely what has made it
so repulsive to begin with - by entering the gutter with it, we've
simply become just as tarnished. Keep it clean, stay above the gutter,
and don't just say your movement is better, prove it daily, hourly, and
in every minute through actions that it is better.